


hold courage to your chest

by princethestripper



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, M/M, MDZS AU, basically elements of MDZS in the KH setting, for the SoRiku Big Bang
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:27:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29959563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princethestripper/pseuds/princethestripper
Summary: Sora and Riku were the greatest senior disciples of the Jiang Sect in their home of Destiny Islands. They were the best of friends, until the threat of a fifth sect, known as the Wen Sect, forced the Jiang Sect to test and find a new sect leader. Riku was banished when he was discovered to possess darkness, something the sect does not tolerate.Years later, stuck between his duty and his heart, Sora tries to find his childhood friend and reconcile the fragile feelings between them, all in the middle of a war.
Relationships: Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18
Collections: Soriku Big Bang 2020





	hold courage to your chest

**Author's Note:**

> here are the art pieces that my wonderful artists created: [one](https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1YabJyLFY31DRLgdB9VpI4GJRRb4Jfu3J) by [wingedpeach](http://www.twitter.com/wingedpeach) and [another](https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1GM-Ht_fHnRmmF9nslmJmGHGRHWOHbrOD) by [rikumbia](http://www.twitter.com/rikumbia)!!  
> I am so so blessed to have worked with you both, your art is so gorgeous and I'll treasure it forever 😭💜💜💜
> 
> I didn't really think I could write a long KH fic like this but somehow with my combined endless knowledge about both KH and MDZS it ended up working? I think I surprised myself the most through this process 😂 I hope you enjoy! any mistakes are mine. (also, oops, this fic was definitely 15k in my doc.... Idk what happened)
> 
> title comes from [King](https://open.spotify.com/track/5Z3zRrMIJk7CVpfcLsM9wD?si=xB-lTRN2Tu2naRw3NuOKlg) by Years & Years!

Growing up, Sora and Riku were inseparable.

When they were junior disciples, the Jiang Sect in Destiny Islands, where they trained and cultivated, had gone through a change in leadership. In order to determine who would take over and be the next leader, the disciples from different families in the sect competed with each other. Among these, the two most outstanding students were Sora and Riku.

While they had known of each other, it wasn’t until they began training that they quickly discovered a friend in the other. Sora was in constant awe over Riku’s swordsmanship, and Riku was in constant awe over Sora’s courage. It wasn’t something Riku mentioned very often, but when he did, Sora preened for the rest of the day. Meanwhile, Sora hid nothing about his regard for Riku.

The sect saw them like an impenetrable bubble. At first, their missions were separate —the sect thought they preferred to go at their own pace. By the time they returned to Destiny Islands, however, they were together, with Sora excitedly filling in their families about everything they did. Afterwards, their missions were assigned together. They made an excellent pair.

Yet as they grew older, tensions between the four great sects and an emerging fifth grew. Being in separate worlds, the cultivators at Destiny Islands thought they might not be affected. At the same time, hoping to quietly make preparations for battle, the elders pushed for an official sect leader. It sent waves of worry through the cultivators, and hastily they sped up Sora and Riku’s training in the hopes that one of them would be deemed worthy of inheriting the title.

They didn’t understand. Sora, especially, was at a loss. Why couldn’t they both be leaders? But the elders refused. It was tradition, they said. And when Riku argued that they were equally matched, the elders had an idea.

A test.

Whoever passed this test would be the next sect leader. A test spanning several days, they would be evaluated on all of their attributes. The motto of the Jiang Sect was “attempt the impossible.” Whoever of the two managed to embody this identity would succeed.

They didn’t have much of a choice, so Sora agreed. Riku, on the other hand, was furious. It was such an arbitrary test—how could they possibly get a sense of their leadership capabilities through one hypothetical examination? Riku insisted that they would be better off with the both of them as leaders. He knew he had faults that Sora made up for.

Still, the elders resisted, and they were forced to stop their protests or else be banished from the sect.

And so, during the arduous test, they realized something. It was not simply an evaluation of their abilities. It tested their essence too. In Riku’s, they discovered a trace of darkness. Destiny Islands, unused to such darkness, was horrified. Riku had no explanation to offer.

Sora had passed. They found, beyond his successful mini-evaluations, that he contained pure light. Thus, he was made clan leader.

Riku, on the other hand, was banished from Destiny Islands. Sora never heard from him again.

~*~

Kingdom Key rests under Jiang Sect Leader Sora’s feet, strong and humming with its controlled energy. He’s flying towards Radiant Garden to investigate a new surge of dark energy, the third case in a different world. It’s his first visit to Radiant Garden, and he’s meeting with the leader.

The Lan Sect presides in Radiant Garden, headed by his childhood friend Kairi. She was raised in the Jiang Sect alongside him, until the Lan Sect discovered she was their proper heir, the next rightful leader. Midway through training, she was then burdened by the difficulties of becoming the next sect leader, as well as attempting to gain the favor of the people who lived there.

It’s been a few years since Sora has taken the mantle of clan leader. Though he had been trained and prepared for battle, he still struggles to be a respectable leader. His people trust him, however, and he has been able to protect them during the beginnings of this war.

He just hopes his efforts are enough.

Kingdom Key leads him to the doors of the castle at Radiant Garden, where two guards greet him. They nod at Sora, and then step aside to allow him entry.

When Sora arrives at the entrance hall, Kairi is there to greet him.

“Sora! It’s been so long!” she says, hugging him right as she sees him. When she pulls away, she’s holding his hands, beaming with excitement.

She looks the same, but taller with a more steady posture now. Her eyes are gentle, much like he remembers when they were children, but with a sharp gaze. He still remembers the rambunctious adventures they used to have.

“Kairi!” Sora replies. It almost feels like nothing has changed. “How have you been?”

“I should be asking you the same thing,” she says, hooking her arm with his. She leads them down through the long, tall corridors of the castle. “I miss Destiny Islands. I haven’t really had a chance to visit other worlds yet,” she laments. “I’m glad you’re here, though! Even if it’s because of a war...”

Sora laughs in spite of himself. “I think we’re just lucky there hasn’t been major damage to the worlds yet. Everyone back home is safe. How are things here?”

Kairi breathes out a little tired sigh. “Radiant Garden needed a lot of help when I moved here, so I’ve been working with my council to resolve some matters. It’s been a long process, but we’ve come a long way. There are new security measures in place too, so things have been stable.”

“That’s great!” Sora says.

“Yeah,” Kairi replies, smiling. “Now we just need to address that dark energy. Let me introduce you to my council first.”

Hidden at one corner of the castle is an unassuming door, with a scanner next to it. She places her spiritual tool, her Wayfinder that she kept from the Jiang Sect, onto the scanner, and it beeps at the same time the door opens.

There’s chatter coming from inside the strategy room when they walk in.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the famous Jiang Sect Leader,” comes a taunting voice. She has her legs up resting on the far end of the large table in the middle of the room, spinning her Shuriken in her hands. “I’m Yuffie!” She waves with her weapon.

Sora blinks, surprised, before the person across from Yuffie explains, “We’ve heard a lot about you from Kairi.” Her hands are folded on the table, her posture straight. She has a serious, gentle smile on her face, vaguely resembling Kairi. “Aerith.”

A gruff-looking man clears his throat beside Aerith. “We were just talking about the ruckus in the lower grounds. I’m Cid, by the way.” He gestures to the seat across from himself. “Come pop a squat, and we’ll get you up to speed.”

Sora ends up sitting down between Yuffie and a stoic man with a scar across his face, who introduces himself as Leon. Kairi stands at the end of the table, with a digital board behind her. She types out a series of commands on the keyboard underneath it, and then the table lights up with a 3D map of Radiant Garden. It zooms in on an area a ways away from the castle, with clouds of dark rumbling energy surrounding it.

“So far, we’ve been able to contain these enemies. The town’s new security system has slowed their movements towards the castle,” Kairi explains. She enlarges the mass of energy, and it shows a live screen of the lower grounds. “Yuffie, how much time do you think we have?”

Yuffie has her chin resting on her hand, looking almost bored and restless. “Maybe a couple hours, give or take. Those Heartless have been putting up a pretty good fight.”

Throughout the war, the fifth sect, known as the Wen Sect, has been able to infiltrate each world through dark energy. Whenever there’s an emergence of dark energy somewhere, their minions, the Heartless, soon follow. If the worlds are not prepared, it can severely weaken them and thus their ties to the other worlds.

Cid chuckles. “I can beef up the security by then.”

Yuffie casually rolls her eyes. “Oh- _kay_ ,” she says, “but we still gotta find the leader!”

“And that’s where we come in,” says Leon, turning to Sora. “We’re going to find the leader while everyone else is fighting on the ground.”

Sora raises his eyebrows, looking back at the enlarged map. “Any leads on that?”

Aerith nods, pressing a small button on the table beside the map. A green radar appears overhead, with weak signals in a few different directions. “Every so often, the security system picks up a strange frequency. It changes every hour or so, as if the dark energy is being replenished.”

“So the leader changes their location at intervals?” Sora asks.

“Right,” Kairi says. She pulls up a second 3D map, which shows connected dots around Radiant Garden. There’s an arrow that seems to point to the next location, on the opposite side of the energy mass. “So we think this might be the next one.”

Yuffie tsks. “But I think our guy might have caught onto us by now. There’s no way they haven’t noticed! We keep just _barely_ missing them!” She frowns, shifting her legs to curl underneath herself, and crosses her arms.

“So you’ve gone after this person before?” Sora asks. He’s watching the floating radar now, trying to watch for any sudden spikes in frequency.

“Kairi and I have, twice,” Yuffie says. “But they were more like accidents. As soon as the guy spotted us, they disappeared into thin air.”

“Huh,” Sora says thoughtfully, leaning back in his chair to ponder.

Kairi nods. “Right, well, this time we have a plan. Leon specializes in homing device talismans, so once we get a new read, we may be able to find the source.”

Aerith claps her hands at waist-level gently. “He’s the best. I have faith in you both,” she says.

Sora nods, smiling. “Thanks! We’ll find this guy.”

Kairi goes back to the keyboard at the front of the room and types out a few more commands. At one side of the room, small boxes pop out of large metal pipes connected to the ceiling. “Here are some supplies for you guys. There’s a Gummiphone in there too so we can keep you updated.”

Cid continues, “We’ll stay here while you guys handle all the rough shit.” He grins. “Don’t worry, though, we gotcha covered.”

“We’ll be back-up if ya need it!” Yuffie says, saluting them with two fingers.

Collecting their things, Leon and Sora set off beyond the castle grounds.

~*~

In the distance, they can hear the security system at work. It’s fairly rhythmic, signaling no disturbance nearby. As they reach the lower grounds of the castle, however, far beyond the entrance, the system starts to beep erratically.

Even though Leon takes out his Gunblade, he says, “We should keep moving. They should be distracted by the security system for now.”

Sora nods. They hop onto their weapons and fly to the other side of the castle, keeping low to the ground so the dark energy doesn’t detect them. “Where to, boss?”

Leon cracks a half-smile. “Just over there,” he says, pointing to an empty crater. They hover a bit higher to fly over it.

It looks a little too innocuous beneath them, and Sora starts to feel doubtful. “Hey, are you sure—whoa!”

Suddenly, he’s toppled off his keyblade by an unknown force, rolling and landing on his front. “What was that?” he gasps, but there’s nothing around to be seen. When he stands up, he turns back around to look for Leon, but he’s gone too. “Leon?” he calls.

No answer.

He might as well look around; they were definitely going in the right direction. He brushes the dirt off his robes, picking up Kingdom Key still floating over the ground. The area looks like a valley, and when he looks at the ground, he can make out different paths crisscrossing in x-patterns. They start out as one and then diverge into three dark portals.

This must be the way out, Sora thinks.

He pats his robes to find the items Kairi had given them, but all he can find is a few regenerative potions. Leon must have the Gummiphone then—hopefully his memory of the map serves him right, when he tries to retrace his steps later.

Reaching the point where the ground paths separate, Sora stabs Kingdom Key into the center. It glows with bright light, spilling from the hilt and down, crawling towards the corners. The middle one stops abruptly when it reaches the archway of the quiet darkness, while the other two manage to enter, illuminating the darkness.

Sora retrieves his keyblade and walks towards the middle, but as soon as he enters the dark portal, his vision changes, and suddenly, he’s no longer near the base of the castle.

Blinding white light greets him. He covers his eyes to let them adjust, blinking slowly.

Before him is a lone figure cloaked in black robes, sitting on a tall throne. The entire room is pure white, and Sora can hear the static hum of technology around him and beneath his feet. Behind the throne, there’s a large staircase that seems to lead to some unknown location.

The figure stands up gracefully, striding leisurely towards him. His hair is silver, and his eyes glow gold, shimmering along with his long red earrings as he moves. He’s much taller than him, looking down at Sora when they’re just a few steps away from each other.

Sora grips Kingdom Key a little tighter. Who is this guy?

“Already itching to fight, huh? Just like old times,” says a startlingly familiar voice. The figure gives him a lazy smirk, and it mentally shoots Sora years into the past for a second, making him freeze.

He knows this voice. This is the voice of his best friend. _Riku?_ There’s no way—it’s been too many years. His chest feels tight with the rush of memories that he’s been trying to move past.

The decision of the elders had sent such a strong wave of shock through Destiny Islands and the residents had demanded for a better explanation. Sora wished he could reverse it, but he couldn’t go against the elders. The Jiang Sect needed him. He couldn’t risk being expelled too.

But he missed him terribly.

“R-Riku?” Sora asks, grip on Kingdom Key slackening. His stance relaxes too, shoulders melting with their tension. Could it really be his best friend?

“Did you forget about me?” Riku taunts. For a brief moment, Sora swears he sees his lips twitch into a frown, but then he blinks and it’s gone. “It hasn’t been _that_ long, has it?”

It doesn’t matter now. Sora breaks out in a goofy smile, the initial shock settling into happiness filling his chest. “Riku!” he says, embracing him without a second thought. “I missed you! Why… why do you look like this?” he asks, poking his face immediately.

Riku’s eyes flash with warmth, but he moves away, leading him to a panel on the wall next to them. It shows four screens, with different angles of the dark energy. Heartless are pouring out of each one, in what seems like different parts of Radiant Garden.

He’s quiet for a moment before he speaks. “It’s a price I’ve paid.”

“Price?” Sora asks. In one of them, he sees Leon fighting off a swarm of Heartless. “What’s going on?”

“I control them,” Riku says simply. His voice is low, and his face betrays no emotion.

“What do you mean?” Sora asks, and a beat later, dawning slowly breaks out across his face. His jaw sets into a hard line. “So stop them. You’re putting everyone in danger.”

Riku doesn’t answer him for a long time. He stares at the screens, watching the Heartless creep along the grounds and walls of Radiant Garden. His expression is relaxed and unbothered as he moves back to the throne, the seat glimmering with the reflections of the light. A wisp of dark energy manifests on his open palm before a charred Wayfinder appears on it. He’s kept his all this time, Sora realizes.

“Darkness is good for us, Sora,” Riku says, voice pitching lower while the Wayfinder emits a fountain of black, and the room feels heavier. “Good for this world. The Great Sects haven’t recognized that yet.” His voice has taken on a sardonic tone, but Sora’s face just falls.

“Riku…” Sora whispers, almost reaching out his hand. The painful memories of their test slowly rise to the surface. “What happened wasn’t your fault.”

Sora has made his peace with their history—he had to, for the sake of the Jiang Sect. In the back of his mind, he hoped to meet Riku again, that they could reconcile their differences and that Riku would have been much better off without the Jiang Sect. To this day, Sora doesn’t agree with the decision of the elders, but he cannot go against them.

The man who meets Sora’s pitying gaze doesn’t remind him of Riku. “I wouldn’t touch your precious Destiny Islands.” His eyes look like ice.

Sora’s heart feels like it’s breaking. “It’s still yours, too,” he insists, but as he searches Riku’s face, he starts to realize that he has been too naive. How could Riku cope with being thrown out of his own home? Did he even have a community? Did he have anyone who cared for him?

Riku’s family had been wrought with grief when he left. True to Destiny Islands’ traditions, no darkness was allowed on the islands, and they were forbidden from contacting him. Worse still, his family had no means of searching for him, as spiritual weapons were the only method to travel between worlds.

A waterfall of darkness falls from Riku’s fist as he grips his Wayfinder. Suddenly, the ground trembles beneath them, making a deep rumbling sound. Nearly tripping over his own feet, Sora holds onto the wall to keep himself upright. In the distance, he hears muffled emergency sounds.

“What did you do?” Sora shouts over the noise.

“I don’t belong to Destiny Islands anymore. I’ve found a new sect,” Riku explains, just loudly enough that Sora can hear. He’s not even looking at his surroundings, focused on his Wayfinder. When he relaxes his grip, the Wayfinder looks slightly more charred. He meets Sora’s eyes. “I’m their leader.”

“You’re _what_?” Sora asks, but before he can step any closer, he’s pushed backwards through empty air, the walls disappearing before him.

~*~

When Sora wakes up again, he’s in a surprisingly comfortable bed. The room stretches out wide before him, but he’s the only one inside. The pain in his head twinges a bit, and when he reaches up to touch it, he finds a small fading bruise close to his elbow. He must be back in Radiant Garden.

A vague memory of falling comes back to him, but he’s not sure where he landed. The last thing he remembers seeing is Riku’s empty gaze. He closes his eyes as the meeting replays in his mind, trying to process the information Riku gave him.

Riku is the leader of a new sect. _The Wen Sect._

He’s sure the other sects don’t know about this. He’ll have to inform them.

But why did Riku share that information with him?

Will they reveal themselves to the world? Do they plan to launch a bigger attack?

And why is Riku in the middle of it?

Sora stares at the beige ceiling as his stomach sinks. Riku wants to take revenge for everything that happened to him.

He wishes he had a bit longer to convince him, to tell him they could find a way. With the way things have been going in the Jiang Sect, he’s optimistic of change. The elders have had less influence since he became clan leader, and Sora has been trying to change things for the better.

He doesn’t want the test to hurt someone again in the future. He feels responsible.

A knock startles him out of his thoughts, and Sora sits up. “Come in,” he calls, clearing his scratchy throat.

Aerith peeks her head in, and Sora’s relieved to see her. “You’re awake!” she says, walking in with a tray of food and what looks like medicine. “How are you feeling?” She sets the tray down on a nightstand and presses the back of her hand to Sora’s forehead.

Sora blinks in surprise, noticing his warm head for the first time. “Fine?” Should he be feeling worse?

“Good,” she says, breathing out a sigh of relief. “When we found you, there was darkness surrounding your entire body. We almost didn’t recognize you.” Sora’s eyes are wide while she hands him the medicine and some water. “Take this.”

Sora does, wondering how bad he must have looked. “How’s Leon?” he asks, settling back against the pillows as he twinges in discomfort. The medicine works through his system, body aching dully.

Aerith takes a seat next to the bed, resting her hands on her lap. “He’s in good shape. We managed to send backup, but then we found out about you.” She frowns a bit, considering. “Do you remember anything?”

Sora’s eyes drop to his lap. He stares at the red, swirling circle design of the comforter. The combination of pain inside his body makes his eyes warm, but he tries not to cry from frustration. He had hoped a reunion with his best friend would have been a happy moment.

Now, however, it seems that they’re on opposite sides of a growing war.

Clearing his throat again, he says, “I think everyone should hear this. Can we have a meeting?”

A beat passes between them. “Of course,” Aerith replies. “I’ll go tell the others. You can meet us in 15 minutes in the strategy room. You still have your Wayfinder, right?”

Sora nods. It’s something Kairi had made for herself, Sora, and Riku when they were about to become junior disciples together. She had made the Wayfinders as a congratulatory gift, but then the news about the Lan Sect broke out. Over time, the Wayfinders have become their personal spiritual tools, each working differently from the other. Hers can work like an access card to hidden secrets, and she passed on the ability to Sora’s as well.

Riku’s used to work similarly, as well as a booster for his keyblade. The charred one he saw, though… He can’t imagine what might have happened to it.

Aerith smiles in response. “Great. We’ll see you soon.” She stands, nodding towards the food on the nightstand in reminder.

“Thanks, Aerith,” Sora says. When he gets out of his bed, his muscles feel just a bit sore. It feels like he’s still recovering, but it doesn’t hurt to move. A small part of his mind wonders if Riku had intended to hurt him like this. Or even worse.

But Sora can’t dwell on possibilities. If Riku is setting out to endanger him and innocent people, he has to fight back.

Even if he doesn’t want to fight his best friend.

The hearty soup he eats sits heavy in his stomach.

~*~

“Today we’ve learned that the mass of Heartless has been steadily gaining on us. They don’t have a mind of their own, as we previously thought,” Kairi says. She’s reading a report as she explains this, glancing at photographs that appear on the digital board at the front of the room.

Yuffie frowns. “What good is the security system then?”

Cid makes a grunting noise, hunched over in his seat. “I’m gonna update it tonight.”

Kairi nods to him. “Thank you.” She turns to Sora, who has been quiet. His eyes are fixed on the table until Kairi addresses him. “It seems there’s something Sora wants to share too.”

“Yeah,” Sora says. The projection of a smaller Radiant Garden glowing over the table reloads itself as Sora finds a section of the map. “Here,” he explains, “is where I think I lost Leon.” He zooms out of the section, showing different caverns circling around the castle. “We flew over one of these, and then I couldn’t see him anymore.”

“It felt like a gust of wind split in half and pushed us in opposite directions,” Leon adds. “When I got up, Heartless were crawling towards me.”

Sora raises his eyebrows, muttering, “I wonder if it was intentional…” He pauses, zooming in on what he believes to have been the cavern where he landed. “There were three paths here, and Kingdom Key showed me where to go. I think someone wanted to meet me.”

“Someone from Radiant Garden?” Kairi asks.

Sora shakes his head, looking over at her. Despite her steady gaze, something in her expression seems nervous, like she’s dreading the answer. “Someone you and I know very well.”

Her face falls. “Riku,” she whispers.

“Who’s Riku?” Yuffie asks, looking between them.

Kairi steps back to the digital board again, typing in more commands. She pulls up a large database of records. The system pulls out and projects a 3D image of Riku, with a small 2D box of information under him. Kairi turns to face the room again.

“Riku grew up in the Jiang Sect with me and Sora,” she begins. “The Jiang Sect… has never been fond of darkness. No clan is, of course, but the Jiang Sect prides themself on using pure light to achieve their goals.” Sora nods, with a slight grimace. He hopes he can improve their reputation someday.

Kairi continues. “Riku had darkness inside of him, something that the Jiang Sect had never thought possible. In the end, he was banished, and only the clan leaders at the time were informed.”

“The elders of the Jiang Sect didn’t want the scrutiny of the other clans,” Sora explains. “I think even they were aware of their cruelty.” He looks down at his hands again. He wants to believe in their decision, but it wasn’t fair to Riku either. “I wish it could have been different.”

Yuffie’s gaping even after Sora finishes speaking. “That’s terrible! Have we never had a cultivator with darkness?”

“I don’t think so,” Aerith says, frowning as she considers. Her head is tilted, searching for examples in their histories. Her tone is gentle when she says, “Riku must be the first. What a burden to bear.”

Sora nods, ambivalence rising in his chest. He’s been taught all his life that darkness is bad and that only pure light must exist. If his best friend has darkness inside of him, however, does that make him inherently evil?

He still has to think about it.

Kairi looks at him again. “Where was Riku?” she asks, though she’s more quiet when she speaks now. Her eyes seem sad, as she must be drawing similar conclusions to Sora.

Even after Sora describes the room, Kairi seems confused. “I don’t think I’m familiar with it,” she admits.

Cid rubs his nose absentmindedly. “Sounds like one of those secret places in Radiant Garden. Places not even the average cultivator is aware of.”

Leon rotates the holographic map while Kairi hums. “How could he have found one?” she wonders. “Is there anyone who knows about these places in detail?”

Yuffie grins. “I can probably find someone! I keep an ear to the ground.”

Kairi smiles. “Thank you, Yuffie.” She looks at Sora again. “So what did Riku want?”

Sora swallows thickly. He’s not sure how to put this lightly. As soon as the words leave his mouth, he will set in motion a long string of events to officially prepare for war, along with the rest of the Great Sects. Up until now, they’ve been trying to protect their worlds, but they have not been successful with retaliation. They will no doubt begin to create councils and rush to gather more information. Now that there is a clear target, they may be able to start moving.

He hadn’t even thought it was possible to establish another sect so easily, especially without the knowledge of the other sects. The implication is clear: there are cultivators in equal or similar power to Riku, who want to achieve the same goal. Riku is leading that goal. Revenge.

Sora takes a deep breath. “He’s the leader of the Wen Sect.”

~*~

Over the next week, the Great Sects hold countless confidential meetings. Nobody has any information about the Wen Sect, which makes some of them shiver—how should they fight against an invisible enemy?

In one meeting, Nie Sect Leader Aqua brings up a controversial idea: some members of the Wen Sect may just be hiding within the ranks of each sect.

Naturally, some cultivators are furious. The seed of doubt is enough to make even the strongest of hearts nervous, and Sora is one of them. The sect leaders, however, refuse to show this to their clans. They must be a model of faith in their people.

In another meeting, with much more limited attendance, the Jin council reveals some possible leads. The Jin Sect, founded in Twilight Town, often performs their work undercover. As an affluent sect, they use their resources to gain information, even from shady sources.

Their information, however, is second to none. It is considered a privilege to hear it.

Thus, when Sect Leaders Sora, Aqua, and Kairi hear about a possible operating base in The Land of Dragons, a quiet world without the constant presence of cultivators, they nod to each other. Kairi must stay in Radiant Garden in case of any further movement. Riku seems to have disappeared.

When Aqua and Sora arrive in The Land of Dragons, it’s nighttime and there is a festival happening in front of the emperor’s palace.

The citizens dance and cheer while they watch, delighted and lively with noise. The dancers perform incredible stunts on the ground, lifting each other up and into the air, and the crowds shout in glee. Outside of the palace, they find food stalls set up along the walls, with tenders trying to entice people to their food.

Sora buys some dumplings, eating them while Aqua speaks.

“Sect Leader Roxas said to look to the mountains. I wonder if someone can point us in the right direction,” she says as they walk along the imperial capital.

Sora swallows his mouthful. “We should ask someone if they’ve heard about any weird things lately.”

Aqua nods. “That sounds like a good idea.”

She finds and takes them to a small inn along a hidden alleyway, and the owner comes to serve them tea at their eatery. There are quite a few tables here, but only some are occupied. It seems like most of the citizens are busy with festivities of the evening, and it may also be too early in the night for some to drink.

A group of rowdy, drunk men don’t seem to think so, however. They’re talking over themselves a few tables away, red in the face and almost pounding the table in their laughter.

“Isn’t that place a no-man’s-land? He’s going to get himself killed!” a burly man says. His voice booms over the rest of the group.

“It would be a mercy to his family,” another man chimes in calmly. He nods decisively, quietly sipping his tea.

The group descends into laughter again. Sora curls his lip in disgust. Who are they even talking about?

A smaller voice coming from a younger-looking man interrupts. “Hey, don’t you all think we might get blamed?” The group stops their laughter, frowning slightly. “We did leave him behind.”

The first man humphs. “Not our fault the festival was starting so soon.”

The young man clears his throat, eyebrows pinched as he stares at the tea in front of him. “He’s still part of our troop. If the captain finds out he didn’t come back with the rest of us, he’ll have our heads.”

A short man shakes his head. “Our directions were clear. If you’re so concerned about him, why don’t you go find him?”

The young man’s eyes widen for a split-second before he stands up. “Fine,” he spits out. “I’ll remember this next time you all have an emergency.” He storms out to a chorus of jeering.

“Don’t forget you came with us,” the burly man calls after him, raising himself on his seat so his voice carries. “You’re just as guilty as us.”

But the young man is already out the door. Sora watches him go, and when he looks at Aqua, she nods to him again. They leave a piece of silver and quietly make their way out, taking a lantern and following the man at a distance.

“He’s heading towards the mountains,” Sora says, keeping his voice quiet on the ascent. The sounds from the inn and inner city festival fade behind them. “What did they mean by ‘no-man's-land’?”

Aqua glances behind her as they turn onto a corner in the mountain path. “There have been reports of unusual sightings in these places, but nothing that points to a source.” She hands the lantern to Sora, taking out her Gummiphone and finding a map of the world. They’re standing at the edge of the known borders. “Here, about a kilometer away. It’s not exactly part of this world.”

Sora gapes. “Could it be—a glitch or something?”

Aqua grimaces, taking the lantern back. “Possibly. If so, it may be an effect of the darkness.”

They walk in silence for a long time, and Sora turns the information over in his head. If the darkness can affect a world like this, then it may change the consciousness of the world and its inhabitants. Beyond simply allowing dark energy to fester, the world may change.

He doesn’t have enough information right now. It could affect the worlds in multiple ways. Sora makes a mental note to report this back to the Jin Sect.

“What was it like,” Aqua begins quietly, startling Sora out of his thoughts, “seeing Riku again?”

Sora sighs. Aqua, as well as her friends Ventus and Terra, had been model cultivators to him, Sora, and Kairi when they were soon-to-be junior cultivators. The Nie Sect was known to be powerful, but that power came at a price. Years before Sora was even born, there had been great internal conflict within the Nie Sect. Before Aqua became the sect leader, a powerful cultivator named Master Eraqus had been leader, with another equally powerful one named Master Xehanort acting as his right-hand man and closest confidant.

Unfortunately, as time passed, their differences grew, and Master Eraqus had no choice but to banish the man he had trusted most. The Nie Sect claimed that Master Xehanort had lost control of the power he wielded. Upon changes in leadership, strict control of one’s own cultivation levels became a principle to uphold, even for those in the inner circle of the Nie Sect.

The Nie Sect took this as an opportunity to teach other sects, and Sora, Riku, and Kairi had been amazed by their demonstrations in strength and wisdom. The three of them wanted to grow powerful just like those in the Nie Sect.

Power, though tempting, they had said, was never something to be handled lightly. Sora had thought this would be his major concern as he trained. He failed to consider darkness, and ultimately, it was something his sect fundamentally disagreed with.

“He was like a different person,” Sora says after a moment. A chill starts to blow down from the mountain. “He didn’t even look the same. But I felt like I could see parts of him sometimes. I know he’s there somewhere.” Sora meets Aqua’s blue eyes. “I just have to find him.”

Aqua gives him a small smile. “Don’t give up.”

Sora nods. When he looks back at the path before him, however, he realizes something important. “Hey… where’s the guy?”

Then the mountain path stretches sideways, splitting itself into two before them. They look identical, but they point in opposite directions. Even in the darkness of the mountain, Sora can still make out some kind of cliff in the distance.

“I think we have to split up,” Aqua says. “You take right. Let’s meet back at the inn.”

“Got it!” They both take out their keyblades and set off through the mountain.

~*~

Sora finds himself at a cliff. There’s someone standing at the edge, looking down, with a black coat. When Sora approaches, he can see the lights of the city shining and creating a small haze. The mountain surrounds it. If it were winter, he thinks, an avalanche would easily destroy the city.

The person chooses that moment to turn around, and before Sora can say anything, something attacks him from behind.

Sora spins around, keyblade at the ready, and finds a horde of enemies he doesn’t recognize. They’re not Heartless, but the patterns along them look familiar. He speeds through their slim, silver bodies, gliding across the ground as he attacks each one. There’s still no sign of the young man they had been following. He spares a glance at the person on the cliff, and they’re gone.

Another enemy swipes at Sora, and Kingdom Key makes a clang as it withstands the attack. The metal reverberates, and Sora pushes back, making bursts of light explode around him.

More of these silver figures descend on him once more, and he runs through them while they attempt to block his path. By the time he makes it across to another edge of the cliff, most of the enemies are gone, and he’s at a standstill with the remaining three, their stances guarded as they stand before him.

Sora stares at them, leaning to one side as he readies his keyblade by his side. The wind is coming from behind him now, and though it’s summer, it brings him a slight chill. The enemies before him twitch occasionally, but Sora can’t find any openings in their movements.

It’s not until he sees the air crackle with darkness that his attention shifts. In the next few seconds, the air fills with more wisps of darkness, and the enemies choose that time to close in on him.

The moment Sora swings his keyblade out is the same moment a circular mass of power shoots up and through his enemies, instantly destroying them. It moves like a train, and as it continues to move, Sora realizes it’s entirely made of Heartless. The wind rushes around him, concentrating around the mass like a whirlwind, and then it redirects its energy to him.

_What on earth—?_

This enemy definitely doesn’t belong here. He’s standing on the edge of the cliff now. They’re high up on the mountain, but there’s no sign that the city has been disturbed yet. His only other option is to try to make an escape with Kingdom Key and warn everyone before it’s too late.

The mass of energy is moving too fast, and he has no time to make a decision.

Sora stands his ground, holding his keyblade in front of his face, bracing himself for impact as he feels the wind try to make him slide away. He closes his eyes, and he can almost hear the darkness crackling with lightning and heaving with low, rumbling sounds. It’s coming.

Sora waits a beat. The wind rushes towards him, relentless.

Another loud clang vibrates through the air, and for a long moment, there’s silence.

When he opens his eyes again, the mass of energy is gone, and the wind is back to normal.

The cloaked man from earlier is standing in front of him, back turned to him. His weapon disappears before Sora has a chance to examine it.

“It’s gone. You can rest easy now,” says a deep voice. He starts to walk away.

“Hey!” Sora calls out. “Who are you?”

The man turns to look at him over his shoulder, moonlight flashing a lock of silver hair from beyond his hood. A small smile forms on the man’s mouth, and he turns away, calmly walking away again.

“Sora!” Aqua calls from a higher cliff. She jumps down in front of him, and she takes a moment to catch her breath on the ground. She smiles tiredly at him, scratches covering her arms and legs and hair with a spot of dirt in it. “You okay?”

Replaying the last few events in his head, and he suddenly feels the need to sit on the ground too. “Yeah. Hey, did you find the guy we were following?”

Sora uses a potion on her, and her injuries close up naturally. “I did,” she says, smiling in gratitude. “He was overwhelmed by a throng of Heartless. I sent him down when it was safe.”

“Same here, but they weren’t Heartless,” Sora says, frowning. “Did you see any silver creature things?”

Aqua raises her eyebrows. “Not Heartless?” In a lower voice, almost to herself, she asks, “Why here?” She taps her chin with her knuckle as she thinks, pulling out her Gummiphone. “There might have been two types of enemies. But why?”

Sora looks out at the city below them, and if he strains his ears, he can just make out faint noise from the festival. Why is the Wen Sect targeting this world? Is Riku behind this? “Is it because of me?”

Aqua looks at him for a moment, considering. “Did anything else happen?”

“There was someone else. He defended me from a huge Heartless attack.”

“The Demon Tide,” Aqua says. She holds out her freshly healed arm for him to look at. “It attacked me too, but I didn’t get so lucky. It’s a rare Heartless, but I didn’t think it would show up here. We were looking for a base of operations, not a monster.”

“Do you think the information from the Jin Sect is true?”

“I don’t doubt them, but now there’s a bigger threat. If the Demon Tide is still out there, then we have to warn the city.”

Sora pauses. “I think… it’s gone. After that guy defended me, it completely vanished, and then you showed up.”

Aqua raises her eyebrows. “We should still let Sect Leader Kairi know. Did that guy offer any help? A name?”

“No,” Sora replies. “We might still be able to catch him, though.” He stands up, offering a hand to Aqua.

Aqua frowns, but she accepts the help. “We don’t know if he’s on our side or not.” She hesitates at the forming pout on Sora’s face. “But we should go see if he’s willing to talk.”

Sora brightens. Maybe they’ll find a better lead.

~*~

It’s mostly quiet around the inn now with visitors and residents alike heading for bed and the festival wrapping up for the night. There’s no sign of the cloaked man from earlier, so they retire for the night. When they enter the inn again, there’s a few people standing around the young man from earlier. He’s drumming his fingers on the table deep in thought until he spots Aqua and waves.

“That’s the woman who saved my life,” he announces to his group, and his eyes are tired and weary. “If it hadn’t been for her, I don’t know if I would be here right now. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

Aqua nods to them in greeting. “We’re glad you’re safe. I’m Aqua, and this is my friend Sora.” She gestures to them respectively, and the other three faces standing around the young man resemble him, and they bow deeply. They must be family.

“Did you find what you were looking for on the mountain?” Sora asks.

A troubled look shutters across the young man’s eyes. “No,” he says. “I’m afraid it was a trap.”

“What?!” Sora exclaims, barely remembering to keep his voice down. Nobody reprimands him.

The young man nods slowly, his mouth a thin line. “There’s been a rumor lately among the captains about a monster in the mountains… The men in my troop laughed it off and said it was nothing to worry about.”

His mother, Sora assumes, chimes in, “And the last member of your troop is somewhere else?”

“Yes. I don’t know where, but at least I know he’s not anywhere near that horrible monster.”

“We’ll help you find him,” Sora promises. He must still be out there. If they’re lucky, maybe they can find the cloaked man again too. Sora owes him a proper thank you, and there’s something about him that won’t let Sora alone. He wants to talk to him.

The young man’s eyes shine in gratitude. “Thank you.”

Aqua lightly claps her hands together. “We’ll start tomorrow. For now, we should all get some rest. It’s been a long day.”

Everyone agrees, and the only noise that leaves the inn from there is the sound of people shuffling quietly towards their rooms, candles and lanterns being blown out as the last visitors leave the shared spaces.

~*~

The window is open in Sora’s room, a light breeze coming in while he lies awake. It’s so warm today that he doesn’t actually need any blankets, but his thoughts are loud enough that he can’t seem to shut his eyes.

Is the man who saved him still around?

Why did he save him?

And is the Demon Tide still a threat to this world?

Even so, Sora thinks, it doesn’t seem like it’s caused any destruction otherwise. He wonders if it was purposely targeted towards himself and Aqua. It may be protecting something, or simply be a warning.

Sora sits up on his bed, stretching his legs out. He got away with a few minor scratches, but nothing that wouldn’t heal naturally. There’s a little scar on his right knee from when he, Kairi, and Riku were kids—they had been racing along the beach and then, in a burst of pure evil, Riku had tripped him and Sora scraped his knee along the sand.

Riku only felt bad when Sora started to cry. To make it up to him, Riku crafted wooden swords for them and promised that they’d get strong together so that Sora would never get hurt like that again.

“That’s impossible, Riku,” Sora had said with a large pout.

Riku had rolled his eyes. “Then let’s get strong till you don’t cry when you do get hurt.”

“I wasn’t crying,” Sora had muttered, but he stood up and they started sparring.

Sora remembers the days afterwards, when Kairi had etched rough drawings into their swords for good luck. Sora and Riku had felt very proud of their swords.

He doesn’t have the sword anymore, but he misses those simple days. The burden of the Jiang Sect had loomed over them as they grew older, and then Kairi had her own responsibilities. He had thought things might never change.

Standing up and looking out the window, the town is quiet and dark, save for the moonlight and twinkling stars. The silence sits over the town like a blanket, occasional low cricket noises escaping the blanket.

Sora doesn’t think he’ll get much sleep at this point. He lights a lantern, grabs Kingdom Key, and goes outside, making his way off to a trail in the forest. He doesn’t know where he’s going, but the warm air distracts him, makes him feel like he’s back at Destiny Islands in a way.

Even the forest is quiet, an ideal environment for him to practice his techniques.

He finds a clearing and stands in the center of it, channeling his qi as he bends his knees. He swings out: left right left, stepping forward in his basic combo. He does it again: left right left, and then up as a possible counterattack.

His swinging through the air as he continues on for a while is near-silent, and he concentrates on nothing else but different strategies. He tests out some talismans, but his writing is a little messy and some of them are noisy. One of them makes a little explosion at the base of a tree, and Sora winces, waiting for the tree to drop. Thankfully, it doesn’t.

Kairi was best at writing talismans out of the three of them. Maybe when he visits Radiant Garden again he can ask her for some tips.

As he scratches his head examining the burnt base of the tree, which somehow didn’t catch fire, Sora hears a soft chuckle behind him. He turns around, keyblade up.

“Who’s there?” he asks. The lantern doesn’t illuminate very much, but the moonlight just manages to show a shadow.

“Nobody,” comes the reply.

It sounds like the cloaked man from earlier. Going against his better judgment, Sora brings Kingdom Key down against his side, and he walks toward the shadow, albeit slowly. “It’s you,” Sora says.

The shadow moves away, out of the moonlight.

“Wait!” Sora calls out. The shadow hesitates. “I wanted to say thank you. I don’t know you, but I owe you for driving that monster away from me and my friend.”

The shadow stays still. They’re the only two people in this forest, and the shadow hasn’t tried to harm him. Even though the figure before him is unfamiliar, Sora feels a sense of ease around him. He can almost hear Kairi’s nagging voice, but Sora has always been one to trust his gut.

“There’s no need for repayment,” the shadow finally says.

Sora crosses his arms. The figure hasn’t run away yet. “Then can I at least get a name?” he asks, tilting his head. He can’t really see the shadow regardless, and he doesn’t want to spook him.

“Ansem,” he replies.

“Ansem,” Sora repeats, smiling slightly at him. A beat passes between them, and when it’s clear that neither of them are leaving, he continues, “What are you doing out here?”

“Just checking on something important,” Ansem replies.

“Is it okay?”

“Yes.”

Sora scrunches up his face. Why is this guy so cryptic? “Oh- _kay_ ,” he says, drawing out the word. He spins Kingdom Key in his hand. “Why don’t you spar with me?”

“It’s late.”

“So?” Sora asks, raising an eyebrow.

Ansem is quiet for a moment before he steps out towards him. His hood is still up, and the moonlight shines across his back. In the blink of an eye, a weapon materializes into his right hand. It looks like another keyblade, but Sora doesn’t recognize it. It’s silver, shaped like a standard sword, with indentations along the sides. It looks heavy, but Ansem carries it like it weighs nothing.

“Any rules?” he asks.

Sora examines him. Whether or not this guy is a cultivator, he seems experienced. “If you win, I’ll go back. If I win…” he says, grinning a little wickedly, “you have to tell me why you saved me.”

Ansem snorts, surprising Sora. “You’re not going to win.”

Sora bristles. “Hey! You don’t even know me!”

“I watched you fight. That’s all I need to know,” he replies, and he sounds so _smug_. The memory of challenging green eyes flashes through his mind, but he pushes it away. No distractions—Sora’s definitely going to wipe the floor with him.

“Okay,” Sora says, pointing Kingdom Key at his head, “come on!”

Their keyblades clash against each other. Sora was right, Ansem’s keyblade _is_ heavy. He uses the weight to his advantage by slipping under and rolling to Ansem’s opposite side. He almost manages to swipe at his feet, but he misses. Every time Sora tries to land a blow, Ansem blocks him easily.

The entire time, he also hides his face in the hood of his coat. Sora can barely steal a glance at him, and it only makes him more curious. He won’t let himself get distracted though, he tells himself, and he looks for another weak point.

They block each other in circles—each impact rings out a bit louder than the last in this otherwise silent center of the forest, and the noise begins to resemble a melody between them, something like a staccato beat.

Sora sees his chance—they go off-beat, and he swings at Ansem’s left hand.

The keyblade disappears and shifts to his left hand, blocking him again easily. Ansem almost, _almost_ falters from the pushback. A second slower and Sora would have gotten him.

“You’re good at this,” Sora mumbles, but he’s not happy about it.

“Are you giving up already?” Ansem asks, and there it is again, that tone. Sora sets his jaw as it tickles something in his memory, but he knows he’s close to winning against this guy.

“No way!” Sora steps back and they stare each other down, catching their breath. He wonders what Ansem is thinking. Is he smirking? He knows Riku would. Riku used to—

No.

The memory hurts to think about.

Sora changes tactics. If this guy is a fellow cultivator, he can keep up with other techniques.

He throws out a disc of light energy, and it whirls around Ansem. Ansem watches it calmly for a little while, looking back at Sora like he’s expecting something.

When Sora snaps, the light shatters into tiny shards, and this, finally, catches Ansem off-guard, unable to block some of them.

They pierce Ansem’s arm, rendering it unable to hold his keyblade, so he transfers it to his other arm. Before he has the chance to make the change, Sora swings at him again, and Ansem can’t move away in time for this either. Sora finally, finally, gets a hit.

“I win,” Sora announces. He’s standing right in front of Ansem, who has his head turned away.

“Hmph, figures you’d use a dirty trick,” replies Ansem, and he doesn’t sound so smug now. Sora preens inwardly.

“You’re a cultivator though, right?” Sora asks.

“I was. Not anymore,” Ansem says.

Sora steps back again, putting Kingdom Key down and removing the shards of light from Ansem with another snap of his fingers. “What happened?”

“It’s not important.”

Sora puts his hands on his hips, leaning forward to try to look at Ansem’s face. “Hey, no more being Mister Mysterious. Why did you save me?”

Another stretch of silence before Ansem sighs. “There’s someone after you.”

Sora scoffs. “I know, his name is Riku. Heard of him? Leader of the new fifth sect of the cultivation world.” Sora nonchalantly pats off the dirt from his clothes. “It’s good that you’re not a cultivator. They won’t target you.”

Ansem’s keyblade dissolves into the air as he holds it. “They’re targeting everyone, good or bad.”

Sora narrows his eyes. “Wait, how do you know this?”

Ansem shakes his head. “You just need to trust me. Something bad is going to happen, and you need to be ready for it.” He picks up Kingdom Key lying next to him, and he presents it to Sora, looking down at him. “Promise me.”

Sora’s breath catches in his chest. He doesn’t know if he should feel nervous, relaxed, or… something else? When he looks up at the dark shadows of Ansem’s hood, he starts to make out those silver hairs again. Something about his presence eases him. He thinks he can trust him. “Okay.”

When he tries to reach out and touch Ansem’s face, he’s gone, leaving Sora cold and alone in the hot summer night of the dark forest.

~*~

A fierce corpse. He’s never seen one in person before.

Aqua moves before Sora has a chance to even blink. She slams him against the cave wall with a rush of qi, and then she pulls Sora and Ping away. They start running immediately.

“What’s going on? What was that? I’ve never seen that before!” another voice asks suddenly. Ping shushes it, and when Sora turns to look, he sees a tiny dragon peeping out of Ping’s collar, but now isn’t really the best time to ask.

“Just keep running!” Sora yells. A metallic, thundering groan echoes through the mine, the ground vibrating underneath them as they race to the entrance.

“What was _that_?”

“No time to explain! Don’t look back,” Aqua shouts over the groans increasing in volume behind them. The way out seems to stretch on forever, and the sun has started to set from what they can see beyond the exit.

A sudden roar knocks them off-balance, and they grab onto the ground and walls to keep themselves steady.

“Keep moving!” Sora shouts across the cave, but even his voice sounds a bit shaky. Was this mine a trap? Were they waiting for their next victims to walk in? The three of them catch themselves before they can delay any longer and finally reach the exit.

It’s quiet outside. The sleeping supervisor is gone.

“Where… where is everyone?” Ping asks, bent forward with hands on his knees, catching his breath. The little dragon jumps onto the ground, pacing tiredly.

“Man, this is ridiculous. I did _not_ sign up to be attacked by the undead,” he complains, rubbing his head.

Sora and Aqua stare on in wonder. “This is Mushu,” Ping explains sheepishly, but they can’t stand around out in the open for long.

“Wait,” Aqua says. She pulls them back, away from the entrance of the mine and out of sight. They’re left staring out towards the ocean.

From here, they can see the moonlight beginning to reflect across the water. It almost looks peaceful, and the world is undisturbed for a few long minutes. A feeling of dread crawls up Sora’s neck like a whisper, and he braces himself for a fight. Aqua readies her keyblade too.

The horrible thing chasing them doesn’t roar as it leaves the mine, but it does fly out like a tempest. The force of it makes a rush of wind hit them, and they attempt to block it with their weapons.

The strangest thing, however, is that it doesn’t last very long. The monster moves away as quickly as it exited, doesn’t spare them a glance, and then takes off towards the water.

Sora brings down his hand, and he finally catches a glimpse of the monster. The Demon Tide. “It’s back,” he whispers, “but why?”

“T-That—” Ping starts, face turning pale. “That’s the monster from before.”

It’s far away from them now, looping itself into a large circle high above the water. In the quiet of the night, it whirs into a dark void of activity, gaining speed as a portal opens up above it.

“It never left,” Aqua says. “It was waiting for something.” She turns to Sora. “We have to go.”

“But—” Sora protests. The Demon Tide shoots up, launching itself into the portal.

Ping clears his throat, squaring up his shoulders. “You have your people to take care of. I’ve got mine,” he says. He looks exhausted, but there’s no room for doubt in his words. “The mine should be empty now, right? I’ll be… alright.” He smiles nervously, but Mushu gives him a thumbs up and climbs back onto him.

Aqua stares at him for a moment before she nods. “Okay. We’ll make sure there’s no danger elsewhere.” She nods towards the water. “But that monster was the source of it. Nothing else has appeared since then.”

Her words give Sora an idea. He takes out some folded paper from his pockets and quickly writes talismans on them. When he finishes, he hands them over along with a few potions. “Just to be safe. Your friend might need the potion, at least.”

Ping nods. “Thank you,” he says, looking down at the items in his hands. “Good luck out there.”

“You too,” Sora says, smiling. “Your friend will be fine, I can feel it.”

With a final goodbye, Sora and Aqua mount their keyblades and chase after the monster before the portal closes. The last thing Sora sees before they cross the barrier is dark, flowing wisps.

Then everything goes black.

~*~

Sora wakes up to the sound of waves. The sand is warm beneath him, the sun shining on his face. In the distance, he can hear a seagull calling, and for a long moment, there’s nothing else. He can almost hear Kairi’s footsteps in the sand, no doubt ready to flick his forehead and get him to come back to training.

But it never comes.

When he opens his eyes, the sky is gray, not blue like he was expecting, the sun hidden behind clouds. The waves of the beach are strong, murky with the color of crimson, and Sora’s blood runs cold.

Standing up, he’s relieved to find his things on him, but he doesn’t see Aqua anywhere. In fact, there’s nobody around, even from what he can see of the main island. _Where is everyone?_ At this hour, there’d be senior disciples sparring with each other or otherwise facing off on the mini island, while families on the main island would be preparing dinner.

Sora flies across the water, rising higher when he reaches the opposite edge. He scans the ground below him, but it’s not until the main houses of the sect that he sees smoke rising and a horrible stench invades his nose. Covering his nose, he flies down to the center and almost stumbles off Kingdom Key at the sight.

Surrounding him in every direction are his own people of the sect, but they’re lying unconscious, unresponsive to Sora’s shouts of despair and his touch to check their bodies. They’re cold, blank, and gone. Their weapons lay fallen next to them.

His chest is heavy with anguish and his eyes well up as he looks at his fallen cultivators. He could have protected them. The Demon Tide must have been faster.

And all he had been doing was sleeping. What kind of leader is that?

He sits in the center of the sect and mourns them. He has to give them a proper burial, but there’s way of knowing if the Demon Tide is still on the island, or even destroying other sects. He can’t abandon his people now.

As the gray sky turns darker, there’s a hollow ache in his chest, the silence of his usually bustling island deafening, except for a rustle nearby.

Sora is immediately on his feet, Kingdom Key poised at the ready. “Who’s there?” he asks. His voice is hoarse, and his eyes still sting.

There’s nothing for a beat, and then a black-cloaked figure takes off running towards the doors of the Jiang Sect, and Sora is right behind.

“Did you do this? Who are you?” he yells. He manages to tackle into the other person, bringing them both down with a loud _oof_.

Sora recognizes this voice. _Ansem_. His heart sinks deeper.

“Are you…?” he asks, voice small.

The reply is shaky. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.”

“What?” Sora asks, and he falters. “Wait, what do you mean ‘like this’?”

Ansem covers his mouth, struggling to get away, but Sora has him pinned down. “Get _off_ , Sora.”

Sora’s mouth falls open. “You know my name?” Sora’s grip loosens for a split-second in surprise, and that’s all the time Ansem needs to flip around and put space between them.

Ansem is breathing heavily, the hood of his coat down, and Sora stares at him while the moonlight shines behind him again. His posture, his stance, the familiarity with him…

“R-Riku?” Sora asks. He doesn’t really need the confirmation, but the stricken look on Ansem’s face tells him everything. The sour, bitter feeling returns full-force, and his eyes well up again. “Do you even know what you’ve done?”

Riku says nothing. He turns away, fists clenched by his side, whispering, “It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.”

“Tell me what was supposed to happen, Riku!” Sora yells. His voice echoes so acutely in the space between them, and Sora closes his eyes, remembering another lifetime ago when he used to yell at Riku for cheating in their games. “Tell me you were planning to kill people anyway. You just didn’t expect it to be our people. The people _you_ grew up with and trained.”

Riku scoffs, looking over his shoulder. The gold in his eyes flares. “They were _your_ people to begin with, anyway. It’s over.”

Sora stares at him, eyes wide and searching. This isn’t the Riku he grew up with. He hangs his head, heart too heavy. “Leave. You don’t want to be here anymore.”

There’s no response for a while, and Sora is about to repeat himself when he looks up and sees nobody before him.

The moon hangs high in the sky, but the sun never once showed itself. The darkness grows longer.

~*~

A long time passes before the Jiang Sect can pick its head up again. Sora rebuilds with his people, the survivors, and Kairi comes to help when she can. It’s hard, sometimes, knowing these people are gone—and he only has himself to blame.

While the war hasn’t stopped, there’s been no sign of the Demon Tide, gone after the attack. Regular Heartless are reported within other worlds, but they do not reach Destiny Islands. In a way, it feels like their home is a bubble, peace at the cost of hundreds of lives.

Aqua, on the other hand, had been sent to her own world when they were separated. She arrived long after Riku had left, exhausted and scratched up, and only needed one look at Sora’s face to understand what had happened.

For a long time, there’s silence. The worlds are busy as Destiny Islands slowly gains life again, but the damage is far too great. Murmurs of resentment plague the island, and Sora promises to bring back the pride of the Jiang Sect. He hopes it won’t be too late.

~*~

The sect leaders, as well as their trusted senior disciples, meet in Twilight Town at the request of Sect Leader Roxas. Sora feels out of place: it’s been months since he’s last seen some of these people, and he doesn’t really know of the situation outside of Destiny Islands. However, Kairi insisted he attend.

They’re in the library of the Old Mansion, the main house of the Jin Clan, as Roxas addresses them.

“As many of you know, the Heartless have evolved. We’ve been keeping a close eye on them, but so far, there has been nothing as dangerous as the Demon Tide.” His arms are crossed, pondering at the floor with his eyebrows furrowed.

“Has anyone seen the Demon Tide?” asks Terra, standing at one side of Aqua.

Olette shakes her head. “Not according to our sources.”

“That’s what we wanted to talk about, though,” Pence chimes in. “Can everyone move to the side? We want to show you something.” He pulls a thick book out of one of the shelves, and a large section of the floor dissolves into thin air. It reveals an underground walkway, teeming with the same technology from Radiant Garden.

“This way!” Olette says, leading everyone down into the underground.

The rooms along the way are small and narrow, devices strewn about and computers set up along the walls. There are stacks of notes and boards with pictures and writing, but they’re all written in some code that Sora doesn’t recognize.

They arrive at a long, brightly lit hallway with containers against one wall. The room hums with the sound of electricity, but it’s quiet otherwise. Pence approaches the very first tube, turning to face the rest of the cultivators.

“We’ve found this. It doesn’t look like a Heartless,” he explains. There’s a white, slender figure inside, in the shape of a human but lacking a face. In place of eyes is a white cross, an inverted heart pointing down. The mouth is one line that stretches across its head. It’s the exact same enemy he encountered in the Land of Dragons. “There aren’t very many of them, but they’re deadly. They seem to be coming from somewhere, as if someone is making and releasing them.”

“So you think it’s the Wen Sect?” Yuffie asks, standing right behind Kairi. She’s looking wide-eyed at the container, looking torn between approaching it and staying a safe distance away.

“But why now?” Kairi asks.

“That’s the problem. It was just Heartless before, so why this enemy?” Roxas replies. “And if it’s so powerful, why not earlier?”

A sense of unease sweeps through the cultivators, lost in their own thoughts. Could it be that the Wen Sect is preparing for another attack? Sora exhales deeply. This time, he will be ready. He will make them pay.

“There’s one more thing we wanted to show you all,” Olette says. She doubles back to the wider room before this one, an empty room that may serve as good space for sparring, and walks over to one corner. The shadow reveals nothing until Olette throws a talisman against the wall, and she steps back.

The shadow turns lighter, revealing a small portal that must be about half of Sora’s height. The light beyond is completely white, and they can’t see anything beyond it.

Olette gestures to the ground, where the portal is beginning to emit uncoordinated lines of light across the floor below and the wall above. “Every day, these lines grow longer. We’ve been suppressing this energy with a talisman, but its true form is another dark portal.”

“So the new enemies are coming from here,” Ventus replies. He steps on the edge of a line that stops at his feet, and it glows.

“Exactly,” Pence says. He faces the portal, crossing his arms behind his head. “But none of our radars have picked up on this world. They’re doing a good job of hiding themselves.”

“But if we go through the portal, it should lead to them, right?” Kairi asks.

“Even if it does, there’s no knowing what could be waiting. It could be a trap,” Hayner says. He’s leaning against the wall, frowning.

Another pause of silence falls over the cultivators as they mull over different possibilities. It would be too risky to send in any of the leaders, and Sora knows this. There may not be any way of contacting them; if this is a new world, they have to be prepared.

The words leave his mouth faster than he can stop them. “I’ll go.”

The sect leaders simultaneously turn to him, blanching. “ _No._ ” The response comes from multiple people.

Sora frowns, tilting his chin up stubbornly. “I can settle this for us.”

“Your clan is still recovering. They can’t lose their leader right now,” Roxas replies, glaring straight at him. “Leave it to one of our people.”

The others nod in agreement, but Sora won’t back down. “I won’t let anything happen to me. The rest of my clan will be safe.” He smiles. “Just trust me.”

Kairi huffs, but it sounds defeated. She must know, after years of being his friend, that she can’t change his mind once it’s made up. Thankfully, nobody else tries to convince him otherwise, though they’re still watching him warily, like they’re looking at him for the first time. The people in this room know him, but they know more about the tragedies that have befallen the Jiang Sect. Every sect has its own issues, but nothing like a series of trials that Sora has faced.

He knows they pity him, too. How could they not? Everyone knew the great Jiang Sect had two excellent senior disciples, and now one of them is leading a war against them.

Fate can turn out so cruelly, but Sora has to put a stop to it. If not him, then who else?

“At least take some people with you. You can’t shoulder everything alone,” Roxas says. His glare is less sharp, but he summons some of his own disciples. “Remember, we’re assassins. We can blend in the shadows.”

“The portal is small, but we’re going to try finding another way in,” Pence adds. “Stall for time if you need to.”

“Okay,” he replies. “Thank you.” Roxas doesn’t say anything, turning his attention to the portal of light.

The rest of the cultivators give Sora and the Jin disciples space as the Jin Sect releases the energy of the portal. There’s a muted rip as the portal sheds its outer layer, folding over itself as it reveals the dark portal. It stretches from the floor to the ceiling, and it reminds Sora of the portal that The Demon Tide left behind. This time, he won’t be so careless.

The humming sound is the last thing he hears and the first thing he notices when he steps through the portal.

He stops to check behind him—a solid wall. On the ground is the source of the new humming sound, thick wires bolted down against the edges of every wall. Impossibly tall buildings form a narrow path before the four of them, with the occasional streetlamp.

“Let’s go,” Sora says to the Jin disciples, and they’re off.

~*~

Every enemy they encounter has the same symbol, metallic figures glinting in the dark lighting. The path takes them through nondescript buildings, neon signs buzzing irregularly, and more enemies begin to appear, like someone sounded an alarm and they’re starting to line up like an army.

“‘Nobodies,’” says one of the disciples, who had introduced herself as Fuu. She’s quiet but efficient as they move, cutting off enemy movements before they can get too close to her.

“What?” Sora replies, too far to hear as enemies approach from the other side.

Some of them are fast, but others are slow. The four of them split up naturally to cover their bases, adjusting faster when a new group shows up. The waves are relentless though they haven’t been walking through the world for more than an hour.

“We call them Nobodies,” calls another disciple. This one’s name is Seifer, and though he seems to be disgusted by everything, he works well alongside Sora. 

The third disciple, Rai, does an uppercut onto a larger Nobody, one that flies across and tries to lance through the ground. “So annoying, y’know?”

When the Nobodies are cleared, the three senior disciples jump backwards, fitting themselves into a triangle facing out. “Anyone else?” challenges Seifer.

Sora finally brings down his keyblade, catching his breath as it grows quiet again. Maybe this was a test. Are they satisfied? Is _Riku_ satisfied? He must be the one behind this, after all.

He looks around, seeing nobody, and even the Jin disciples lower their guard. “Let’s keep going,” Sora says.

But a figure in a black coat stops them in their tracks, standing in the center of their way out.

Sora’s hands tremble furiously. “Riku,” Sora spits bitterly. “Wasn’t Destiny Islands enough?”

The figure removes their hood, and a cascade of silver hair falls behind his shoulders. He looks much like the disguise Riku had, except younger. “You don’t need to worry about Riku anymore,” the man says cooly. His stare is level with Sora, watching the frightened changes in his expression curiously.

“What do you mean?” Sora asks cautiously.

“He’s of no use to us any longer. If you’re looking for him, you won’t find him.”

Sora’s heart stops in his chest. What have they done to him?

“And who are you supposed to be?” Seifer interrupts, fists clenched by his sides.

The man flicks his gaze over to Seifer, but he’s still addressing Sora when he says, “Do you still care for him?”

Sora doesn’t answer, heart aching as he stares at the ground. The memory of Destiny Islands makes his eyes sting. If Riku had been fighting alongside him, maybe things would have turned out differently. They could have defeated the Demon Tide together.

“Do you wish to see him?”

“I… I do,” Sora admits. His voice is small, and even when the words leave his mouth, he can hardly believe he said them.

“Hmph, such a weak heart.” A portal appears behind the man. “Forgiveness is what corrupts this world. One only needs true power.” And with that, he’s gone.

Rai breaks the silence. “Yo, what was that guy saying? It didn’t make sense, y’know!” Fuu glares at him, but to some extent, Sora agrees.

He thinks over his words, of the way Riku talked to him that night, and every instance before that. He had never sensed any malicious intent when they talked, but if that was the case, why did Riku approach him? To make amends? He protected him once. It may not have been his own attack. Many of these things may not have been his own doing. Sora looks at the empty space leading forever onwards in this unfamiliar world.

“I think someone else is in charge of the Wen Sect,” Sora finally says.

“A traitor,” Fuu replies.

Sora pauses, turning to face the Jin disciples. “Wait, that’s it. Riku was a traitor!” His mind is running with possibilities. He needs to find him now.

“So, what? You’re going to storm into their main base to find him?” Seifer asks, crossing his arms.

“I have to. I need to find out the truth,” Sora replies. There’s a lot he needs to talk about with Riku. He hopes Riku will let him.

Rai scratches his head. “This is kind of crazy, y’know?”

“I know. But don’t worry! We’ve got each other’s backs,” Sora says, flexing one of his arms. “Will you guys lend me a hand?”

Seifer scoffs, but he agrees. “You’re pretty reckless for a sect leader.”

“‘Attempt the impossible,’” Sora recites, sticking out his hand to shake theirs.

“No time,” Fuu replies. She moves onward, leaving the rest of them scrambling to catch up.

~*~

Along the way, more Nobodies attempt to ambush them. The Jin Sect, with their ability to detect weaknesses, quickly throw out talismans binding movement from faster kinds. It gives Sora time to fight the slower Nobodies, as well as disarm some of them.

They hear the sound of a portal vanishing every so often, eyes watching their fights. Whenever they look around, there’s nobody there. It happens in succession, like they’re being viewed in every angle. Sora tries to shake the feeling away.

Finally, they arrive at a large, floating castle. Inside, high above them, is a row of more people in black coats watching them silently. Their faces are all shrouded except for the one in the middle, the man who talked to them earlier.

“Finally made it, huh?” calls out a mocking, high-pitched voice. “We were starting to get so _bored_.”

Sora glares at them. “Got nothing better to do?”

The people all chuckle, including the first voice. “We were just _so_ excited to see you! Imagine, poor little Riku’s best friend delivered to our very doorstep. If only he were here to watch your downfall.” She gasps. “Wait, that’s a great idea!”

“Larxene, I think that’s a bit too cruel, even for you,” the person next to her says, but he sounds like he’s smiling.

Larxene giggles. “You’re right. I’ll just teach them a lesson here.” She jumps down to their level, hood falling behind her while her hands crackle with electricity. “Get ready!”

Before she has the chance to strike, however, someone stops her with their keyblade. It’s Terra, and right behind him are the other cultivators.

“We’re here! Sorry we took so long,” Aqua calls over her shoulder as she and Ventus join Terra in the battle.

“Guys! You made it!” Sora exclaims.

A collective muttering and groaning sounds from above again. “Looks like we’ll have to do this the hard way,” another one says. They all leave in different directions, but the other cultivators chase after them. Even the Jin disciples leave, throwing Sora a quick ‘good luck.’ The enormous white-marbeled room is empty

The one man in the middle does not leave. He stares down at Sora, gold eyes unblinking, mouth a thin line, and then turns around. He walks through a long hallway behind him. Sora follows.

They walk through the castle until the man stops at a roof. In the middle is a floating orb, where someone lies asleep inside. _Riku._ Sora runs to the orb, but an invisible force pushes him away.

Sora attempts to strike at the man without thinking, but he easily dodges. “What have you done to him?” Sora demands.

“Just a peaceful slumber,” the man says, waving his hands. “Something for him to do until you arrived.”

Sora turns around just a second too late. He’s hit from behind, and he recognizes the keyblade in Riku’s hand; it’s the same one from the forest. He jumps back, holding his injured arm as he tries to gauge Riku. A dark glow clings to his body, his eyes piercingly gold… but empty.

“Riku! It’s me!” Sora hisses, but to no avail. Riku lunges.

Sora rolls out of the way, and Riku continues his assault. He had been so ready to fight him, but now he just wants to talk. This isn’t the Riku that he knows—he _wasn’t_ the Riku that he knew, and he just wants to find out the truth. How much had Riku been hiding from him? What were his true intentions?

Could they be friends again?

“Riku,” Sora gasps, as he deflects another attack. He’s losing breath quickly.

“It’s useless. He can’t hear you. He can only watch as his own body hurts you.”

Sora’s heart clenches. _If he can hear me…_ “Riku, I’m sorry. You went through everything alone.” He pushes back against another attack, throwing Riku’s weight off him.

“I should have fought more against the elders. Why did we keep those stupid rules?”

Riku doesn’t answer him, eyes flashing harder through every strike.

“It would have been cool to have our very own demonic cultivator,” Sora notes, laughing breathlessly. His technique is getting sloppier.

“But what I’m trying to say is, I miss you.”

Riku traps him against a corner, his strength overwhelming. Their faces are so close that Sora can swear he sees green flecks breaking through Riku’s eyes. He’s listening. Sora can barely hold himself up, but he keeps talking.

“I forgive you,” he says, whispers. His arms are trembling with the effort, but Riku’s darkness flares stronger.

Any more and he’ll… “Please. Come back,” Sora pleads.

Through the natural green of his eyes is a familiar gaze. Sora recognizes it from when they were kids, but now he remembers that same look watching over him, protecting him. He hadn’t noticed it until now, the kind of gaze Riku always looked at him with: love. And in that moment, Sora knows he loves him too.

He gasps at this realization, and strains his neck up to reach his mouth and kiss him.

Their struggle halts, and then, feeling an impact on his head, Sora blacks out.

~*~

Sora wakes up in a familiar room. It almost feels like deja vu, except when he sits up, he has a splitting headache and bandages on the left side of his head.

Someone is at his side immediately.

“Sora!”

 _Riku._ Sora rubs his eyes. It’s not a dream. “Riku?” he asks timidly. “What… what happened?” He’s almost afraid of the answer.

But Riku just smiles fondly at him. “We’re okay. Everyone is.”

“Everyone?” Sora asks. “What about… your sect?”

Riku shakes his head. “They’re gone. They were never mine to begin with.”

“But I drove you to them.”

“It wasn’t you. I went there, but they controlled me,” Riku explains. He looks at his own hands in shame. “The darkness consumed me, and I didn’t know how to control it.”

Sora holds Riku’s hands in his own, eyes shining. “It’s all over now.”

“I feel so stupid,” Riku says, squeezing Sora’s hands. “How will the Jiang Clan look at me now?”

“With awe,” Sora insists. “Because you’ll be helping me rebuild Destiny Islands to its awesome former glory.”

Riku cracks a rueful smile at that. “Aren’t I the lucky one.”

“You _are_ ,” Sora replies. “Everyone will love you.” He bites his lip. “I know I do.”

Riku looks up at him, searching his eyes. Sora feels his heart beat faster, a shy smile spreading across his mouth as Riku leans in and kisses him. He slides his arms up his neck, emitting a tiny gasp as Riku licks into his mouth. It feels warmer and warmer between them, and Sora has to turn his head away before they go too far. They both take a second to catch their breath, but Riku’s gaze is still hungry. Well, they’ll have time for that later.

Riku clears his throat. “Kairi wants to see you at the meeting room. They have a lot to tell you.”

“Wait…” Sora replies. “Are you saying I missed all the action?”

Riku grins, ruffling his head. “Yeah. But you saved me. And I protected you.”

Sora smiles, heart feeling lighter. He doesn’t think anything can come between them this time.

~*~

Traditions are amended at Destiny Islands. Riku won’t be the only demonic cultivator in history, as proven by the Wen Sect. If they don’t train them now, they could become rogue cultivators and possibly enemies.

Some of the disciples agree, to their surprise. In fact, some of them argue that Riku should be the other clan leader. One of light, and one of dark. If they combined their power, they argue, they could be unstoppable. Nobody can argue against this logic, least of all Sora, who is beaming as he hears this.

So, they lead Destiny Islands together and rebuild their clan together. More protection is built around the worlds, allowing for more monitoring against unknown enemies. Thanks to the technology of the Lan Sect, it’s successful.

Finally, as Riku cultivates his darkness, he knows many people are afraid. He also knows some new disciples might be suppressing any darkness they have. Through the teaching methods of Sect Leader Sora and Sect Leader Riku, these young cultivators learn to hone and control their darkness, as well as their light.

The Jiang Sect becomes known for this extraordinary balance: a harmony and dance of light and dark.

A kiss of twilight.

And peace forevermore.


End file.
